Sanchez, who seems very excited with the trade, said that the experience was “a little crazy” but he feels that he is joining the Giants for a reason. In addition to Sanchez, the Giants also acquired first baseman Ryan Garko on Monday, trying to get in the trades before the Friday deadline. The improvements should upgrade the right infield, making the team stronger and more solid. The additions should also help with the Giants’ upcoming competition against the Colorado Rockies for the National League wild card; the teams are tied at 54-46 for first place. “Simply put, our long-awaited next move has finally been consummated,” Giants general manager Brian Sabean said. “A kid that has distinguished himself as an All-Star three out of the last four years and a batting champ within that time frame. The timing’s great,” he said about Sanchez. Sabean was the one who decided to continue with the deal despite the fact that Sanchez is currently sidelined with an injured knee and it is not clear when he will be able to play again. However, the team doctor checked the new player for the second time in a week and said that he was improving. Sanchez said that it was hard for him to come to a team and not be able to play right away; he said he would do everything he could to play as soon as possible.

This season, Sanchez hit .296 with six home runs and 34 RBIs, although he was sidelined in this week’s Pirates-Giants series because of his swollen knee. He was an All-Star in 2006, 2007, and 2008. He has been dealing with trade rumors since the All-Star break; now that the deal has been concluded, he says he feels a great deal of relief. The Pirates, who have already traded away other high-salaried players this year, were unwilling to pay Sanchez’s $8 million option. The Pirates initially offered the player a two year deal for $10 million, but Sanchez and his agents rejected it. His agents made another offer for $6.5 million next year, $6.5 million in 2011, and $7 million in 2012, but the Pirates rejected that offer as well.

Big name players still available

Adam Dunn: He could stay with the Nationals, but I think the White Sox will sweep in and get Dunn before the deadline. If not the White Sox, the Yankees will get Dunn.

Lance Berkman: This will be the backup plan for the White Sox, Yankees and any other team that was interested in Dunn. The Yankees will probably have a better chance trading for Berkman than Dunn, because the Nationals want too much for Dunn.

Jake Westbrook: He will most likely go to the Cardinals. They seem to be the team that wants him most, but if not Westbrook, it could be Aaron Cook.

Ted Lilly: I am seeing blue in his future – Dodgers land Lilly.

Who’s not going anywhere?

Prince Fielder: He stays with the Brew crew.

Ty Wigginton: He is staying with the Orioles. Buck needs someone who can hit.

Brett Myers: Astroland will still be home.

These are some players who have been part of the hottest trade rumors in recent weeks.

Why are the Red Sox so quiet this year? They should be much more aggressive considering they need some help to contend with the Yankees and Rays.

The Yankees lost out on Cliff Lee, Dan Haren and now Roy Oswalt. The Yankees never seemed interested in Oswalt. In fact, Oswalt didn’t want to come to the big apple because of the pressure. What a puss!

The Yankees need a bat off the bench and middle relief pitching. The Yankees are lean in middle relief with Joba having a horrid year, the Yankees need to trade for someone. They could also use a solid DH or a consistent bat off the bench.

Possible Trades for the Yankees:

• Blue Jays reliever Scott Downs would be a great guy out of the pen. The Jays asked the Yanks for Joba Chamberlain in return for the lefty.
• Adam Dunn would make for a great DH and give the Yankees a big bat in an already potent lineup. It looks like the Yanks have cooled off pursuing Dunn. Joel Sherman of the New York Post cites several reasons the Yanks cooled on him.

There are still other big names out there like; Jayson Werth, Prince Fielder and Corey Hart. The Yankees have not expressed any interest in those three players.

This could be a very quiet trade deadline for the Yankees. They have to be a little worried that Philly just got better and Texas has improved their pitching by adding Cliff Lee. I just hope the Yankees don’t face the Rangers, because they will see Lee twice in a five game series.

On the offense side of things, the Yankees need a bat off the bench, but the Yanks are not going to give away the farm to fill this need.

SI’s Jon Heyman: Yankees rumors.

• The Yankees “made a big proposal” for Soria. With three club options, the 26-year-old righty is under team control through 2014.  Had Soria not signed a team-friendly extension in May of 2008, he’d be eligible for free agency after the 2012 season.  The only blemish on his record was missing most of May last year with a sore shoulder.  How do the Yankees and Royals match up?  You’d expect Dayton Moore to pursue Montero or Austin Romine, though the Royals already have Billy Butler and Wil Myers in the organization.
• Heyman notes that the Yankees “have been in touch” with the Nationals about Adam Dunn, but “so far found the price prohibitive.”  With six days until the trade deadline, will Mike Rizzo drop the price on Dunn?  Heyman also links the Yankees to familiar names Ty Wigginton, Jhonny Peralta, and Cody Ross.

Source: MLB Trade Rumors

There’s less than a week remaining before the trade deadline and the Yankees need to start moving fast. Roy Oswalt could be a target for the Yankees. The Boston Globe is reporting that the Yankees may be too “big time” for Oswalt and that he would say no to any trade that could move him there.

Too big? I guess the big apple would make him to nervous, but forty thousand fans do not. This makes no sense!

4:05pm Via Joel Sherman, the Rangers are set to acquire Cliff Lee and reliever Mark Lowe from the Rangers for Justin Smoak and three others. Lowe is on the disabled list after having back surgery and isn’t expected back anytime soon. I have to assume that Seattle is paying Lee’s salary given Texas’ financial plight.

3:40pm Buster Olney (ESPN): The Mariners expressed health concerns about the Yankees’ second prospect in the deal, David Adams. They asked for others, and (more).

3:22pm Buster Olney (ESPN): Rangers are back on Lee. Hard to imagine Texas making this deal happen without Justin Smoak being part of the deal.

3:07pm Joel Sherman (NY Post): Hearing Rangers are working really hard on Lee now. Tricky because of finances with team sale not complete and MLB-imposed budget.

3:04pm Buster Olney (ESPN): The Yankees had hoped to strike aggressively, strike quickly, and get a resolution to this – but SEA might still be shopping for alternative.

2:55pm Jon Heyman (SI):  Yankees about to “walk” after Mariners don’t accept Montero, Adams and 3rd prospect. Pessimism surrounds those talks now.

http://twitter.com/SI_JonHeyman

2:54pm Buster Olney (ESPN): SEA-NYY talks stalled over identity of second player in the deal, second baseman David Adams.We’ll see if another team has jumped in.

2:45pm Buster Olney (ESPN): Big concerns arising within the negotiation that the SEA-NYY Cliff Lee deal could break up. Fluid situation.

http://twitter.com/Buster_ESPN

2:45pm Joel Sherman (NY Post): To repeat the Yankees aren’t getting Cliff Lee, Mariners concerned about David Adams ankle plus apparently another team has jumped in hard.

2:44pm – Joel Sherman (NY Post): Mariners have turned in a different direction and Yankees do not believe they are in it now (more to come).

2:42pm – Joel Sherman (NY Post): Mariners backing off Yankees offer, Post has learned. Does not look like Yankees are in it.

http://twitter.com/Joelsherman1

Seattle is ready to deal Lee to the AL East leading New York Yankees for a Catching prospect Jesus Montero and second base prospect David Adams will head to the Mariners, possibly with another prospect, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, who broke the story. The Yankees are a team that is all about winning and of course not allowing any team in contention to sign Lee. The Tampa Bay Rays are 2 games behind the Yankees and were in the mix for Lee’s service.

The Yankees’ trade package, which Sherman tweeted the Mariners liked (ooh, la la!), would include 20-year-old catcher Jesus Montero, who shot up the Baseball America prospect rankings after he turned in a .951 OPS between the Class A Florida State League and the Class AA Eastern League in 2009.

The Yanks rotation of Sabathia, Hughes, Pettitte and Vazquez are considered one of the best rotations in baseball. The Yankees are ranked 7th in ERA 3.86) and 3^rd in batting average against with .241.

1:27pm: The Yankees have offered Montero, Adams and a third prospect, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (Twitter link). It’s now up to the Mariners to accept or decline the offer.

Cliff Lee will soon wake up in a city, that doesn’t sleep. And find he is king of the hill and top of the heap.

The Yankees have what Seattle may need and that’s a catcher. The Yankees could jump in and satisfy Seattle with a package that could include Yankees Top Prospect Jesus Montero or Austin Romine. If the Yankees did trade the farm, who’s going to be the future everyday catcher after Posada hangs it up?

I am not sure the Yankees will trade Montero for Lee and if they do, it’s a big mistake in my opinion.

The Yankees are also looking for bench help and they could get the likes of Ty Wigginton. This would be a good pick up for the Bombers as Ty Wigginton numbers are better than what the Yanks have currently coming off the bench (.251/14HR/44RBI). If the Orioles were to discuss a trade with the Yankees, the first name the O’s would bring up might be Eduardo Nunez, who Baseball America ranked 14th among Yankees prospects heading into 2010.

There’s plenty of time left during this exciting time of the year for baseball and its fans.

From the Yankees side, they could offer Jesus Montero to Seattle to make the deal more enticing. They’ve done so before when Lee and Roy Halladay were on the trade market. The Mariners also like Yankees Double A second baseman David Adams.  Baseball America ranked Adams 22nd among Yankees prospects heading into the season, and he sports a .309/.393/.507 line at Trenton.

If the Yankees brass pulls the trigger, it could be lights out for the AL East and baseball. The Yankees already have the best record in baseball and the second best ERA in the AL.

Non-waiver trade deadline ends July 31.

Teams will be shuffling players like a deck of old maid.

My gut feeling is that the Yankees will not trade for Cliff Lee. The Yankees need a bat to come off the bench.

The Yankees pitching has been good, but there’s one question mark and that’s A.J. Burnett. The Yankees could offer Burnett in a trade, but the Yankees will have to pay a lot of cash. The Yankees signed A.J. Burnett to a five-year, $82.5 million contract. The Yankees owe A.J. Burnett $58.3MM through 2013. I doubt the Yankees would make this move.

A.J. Burnett is having the worst June in his career. In June, he is 0-5 and has given up 29 earned runs in that span. His overall record in 2010 is 6-7 with a 5.25 ERA.

The Yankees need security in their already good rotation. What could the Yankees do by the trade deadline to improve their rotation?

They could sign any of the following players if available;

Cliff Lee may be heading to the Twins or Mets. I am not counting the Yankees out.

Carlos Zambrano for A.J. Burnett, but the Cubs would be taking on almost $13MM to make the swap. I do not think Zambrano would be a good fit after his blow up the other day.

Roy Oswalt is making $15 million with a contract for $16 million in 2011. This looks like a fair swap for Burnett, but the Yankees would still need to pay cash for the remaining two years. Oswalt is 5-10, but has a much better ERA (3.55) then Burnett and he is 7 months younger if that matters.

What are your thoughts about the Yankees improving their rotation for the second half?

The Detroit Tigers are prepared to offer Johnny Damon $14MM over two years. This would make the Tigers the favorite in signing Damon, but that could change at any time.

Don’t hold your breath for a Damon signing. Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweets that nothing is imminent with the Tigers.

If the Tigers get Johnny Damon, it would likely solve the Tigers’ lack of left-handed bats in the lineup.

James Schmehl of MLive writes: Unlike former Tigers left-handed All-Star Curtis Granderson, Damon doesn’t have to be pulled from the lineup against left-handed pitchers. He’s an equal opportunist, hitting .291 against righties and .283 against lefties in his 13-year career. If he doesn’t make a start, it’s because he’s 36 years old — not because of a pitching matchup.

Damon’s presence could also result in one of three things for Raburn. Raburn could transition into a full-time utility player, making scheduled starts at third, first, left and center field. He could also split time at DH with Guillen and, occasionally, Magglio Ordonez. Or, he could platoon in center with Thomas. The latter would likely result in rookie Austin Jackson not making the 25-man roster.

Of course, if Jackson is sent to Triple-A Toledo to start the season, Damon would likely hit leadoff with second baseman Scott Sizemore batting No. 2.

I think the Tigers are putting too much into a 36 year old left fielder with no arm and at the end of his rope.